SHANGHAI, July 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — On July 2-4, David M. Luna, President & CEO, Luna Global Networks & Convergence Strategies LLC participated in the China Global Trade Development Week (GTDW) and chaired the “Brand Protection: Anti-Illicit Trade” Workshop. The workshop held on July 4 brought together senior officials from across sectors, international organizations, and industries for frank and open discussions on ways to strengthen international cooperation to counter illicit trade, corruption, and converging security threats across borders, markets, and Free Trade Zones (FTZ).

“The reality is that no one economy or community is immune from these threats, such as corruption or cross-border illicit trade,” said Luna. “The global illegal economy is indeed booming and growing significantly every year. We must enhance cooperation through greater strategic alliances across regions.”

Numerous international organizations have estimated that today’s global illicit markets, and various forms of ‘convergence crime’, account for several trillions of U.S. dollars every year, to include the trafficking of drugs, persons, arms, counterfeit and pirated goods, illegal cigarettes and alcohol products, endangered wildlife, corrupt proceeds and illicit financial flows. Of equal concern is not only the current breadth and staggering scale of today’s illicit markets, but that many of them will double within five years’ time alone.

Luna also said that “in too many parts of the world, FTZs are also exploited on a daily by today’s criminals.” The misuse of illicit trade and associated webs of corruption and criminality in one FTZ can have serious security ripple effects in other FTZs all around the world. For example, according to Mr. Luna, “Payments for counterfeits being trafficked through the UAE from China and on to Africa may eventually wind up in Panama or Europe, where they then help to fund other types of illegal activity, be it more illicit trade or other forms of criminality.”

Chris Clague, Managing Editor, and Global Editorial Lead, Trade and Globalization, The Economist Intelligence Unit, provided the keynote at the event briefing delegates on the Global Illicit Trade Environment Index 2018. In times of globalization and free trade, FTZs often are exploited by criminals involved in illicit trade, said Mr. Clague. “Products can be labeled as one thing or from a country then sent into the FTZs where things can be switched around. They are sent back out under a different name or country of origin, making the zones like the magic black boxes for criminals.”

The OECD informed on the important work and latest research of the OECD Task Force on Countering Illicit Trade including its latest report, “Why Why Do Countries Export Fakes?” INTERPOL, World Trade Organization (WTO), and the International Trademark Association (INTA), and other international organizations, also participated at the China GTDW event this week. Other key highlights of the work included a briefing by Sam Radocchia, co-founder/CMO of Chronicled Inc., on how top illicit markets are becoming larger every day, and how blockchain can help curb illicit trade and promote smart supply chains because of its ability to create unique identities for individual items.

Luna Global Networks and KW Group are partnering with the GTDW Advisory Council to bring together action-oriented public and private sector leaders and doers from around the world to advance smart supply chain solutions through strategic alliances on the critical nexus between innovation and investment, and market integrity as part of the Global Trade Development Week (GTDW) Summit series.

Luna Global Networks will chair the new GTDW Anti-Illicit Trade (AIT) Alliance that will bring new energies and attention to the harms and costs posed by illicit trade globally including in strategic markets such as China, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and other vibrant economies in 2018-2020.

A Strategic Advantage: Luna Global Networks is an international security consultancy well-positioned to help businesses and NGOs tackle among the most pressing illicit trade and governance challenges and related security threats across borders, markets, and industries through convergence strategies and tactical plans that target an illicit threat environment more holistically; net-centric partnerships (a network of networks) that harness collective action through strategic alliances; and the designing of pragmatic training to counter illicit trade, leveraging of innovative net-centric capabilities, and the harnessing of transformative technologies that help produce greater results and more enduring solutions.

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